"Windham’s Bi-Centennial 1692-1892; A Memorial Volume of the Bi-Centennial Celebration of the Town of Windham, Connecticut, containing the historical addresses, poems, and a description of events connected with the observance of the two hundreth anniversary of the incorporation of the town, as held in the year 1892." Published by the Committee, Hartford, CT, 1893

Windham’s Second Century ­ Old Windham of To-Day:

The coming of the railways robbed Windham Green of the last of her ancient glories—the stage coach and the prosperous tavern. The town
clerk’s office and probate records and the polling place were removed to Willimantic about 1862. The establishment of Willimantic Savings
Institute in 1842 had brought into the field a formidable rival to the old Windham Bank, which since its establishment in 1832, had been the
financial centre of the town. It was a novel thing for the people to have money. Common trade theretofore had been mostly in barter. Windham
bank notes were a curiosity, and the $2 bills with their photographs of Col. Dyer and Col. Elderkin at either end, and the picture of fighting
frogs in the centre, were the town’s pride.
In 1854 the Windham Bank had been robbed of $7,000 in specie, and $15,000 in securities, the cashier, James Parsons, being bound and
gagged. The watch dog as killed. Parsons quickly recovered himself and gave the alarm. The robbers then took a hand car at what is now Camp crossing, went to Norwich and hid in the woods on the Preston side. They were captured on a steamer when leaving Allyn’s Point and most of the money was recovered. The robbers were sent to Wethersfield. The affair caused the biggest scare in Windham since the Frog fright. [Corrections and Additions in the back of the book state: Samuel Bingham was cashier of the Windham Bank when it was robbed, James Parsons was teller and slept in the building.]
In 1879, the old bank yielded to the popular pressure and was removed to Willimantic, where to-day it takes rank as a leading financial
institution. Other banks have been organized in Willimantic, The Merchants’ Loan and Trust in 1870, the Dime Savings Bank in 1872, the
First National in 1878.
The Windham Centre of to-day remains a residence district, with not a few of her honorable old families remaining. In recent years she has
caught a new life from the receding tide of the congested cities, and to-day the Green is growing in popularity as a summer resort, offering
delightful opportunities for health and recreation. Handsome new trees, set by forethoughtful citizens a score of years ago, to succeed the
ancient elms, have now grown to handsome proportions. The crumbling relics of ancient industries have been cleared away and modern Windham Green had donned a dress becoming her new destiny. There is beginning a wholesome movement from the city to the town. We are learning that this huddling of people into cities is a mistake, and it is to be hoped that in the near future the land may be more evenly populated and more intelligently used. In such a development, Old Windham wills hare as well as the New.